Actress Lindsay Lohan has been returned to jail in handcuffs after a judge refused to set bail and ordered her to remain in custody for failing a drug test until another hearing nearly a month away.

Bailiffs escorted the troubled actress from the Beverly Hills courtroom immediately after the 10-minute hearing. It will be Li-Lo's third jail stint for a three-year-old drug and drink-driving case filed after a pair of high-profile arrests in 2007.

Before the hearing, the Mean Girls star chatted with her attorney, smiling and laughing. But moments before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden S Fox took the bench, she began fidgeting with her earrings and looking to the back of the courtroom, where two bondsmen sat in the courtroom, prepared to post the actress' bail.

Her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, asked Judge Fox whether Li-Lo's full probation revocation hearing could be delayed a week. "I think your client would rather have it on October 22," Judge Fox said, giving the first hint that he intended to send the actress to jail.

Holley rose to argue that bail should be set. "Nope," the judge replied.

"Oh God," said Li-Lo's father Michael as bailiffs moved in handcuffing his daughter.

Li-Lo has twice been released early because of overcrowding, with her longest jail stay a 14-day stint on a 90-day sentence earlier this summer. But this time, the judge's order diminishes the likelihood that Li-Lo will be released before the October 22 hearing, when her positive drug test will be discussed.

Judge Fox said the actress had a "positive test for a controlled substance," but did not name the substance. He said probation officials are also reviewing Li-Lo's compliance with other aspects of her probation, which included frequent meetings with counsellors.

The actress acknowledged failing a court-ordered drug screening last week in a series of Twitter postings. "Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn't go away over night," she posted on her Twitter feed last Friday. "I am working hard to overcome it and am taking positive steps."

"This is certainly a setback for me but I am taking responsibility for my actions and I'm prepared to face the consequences," her posts said.